euphrasius basilica in porec

One short period of time in the long history of Porec, change its destiny forever. In the 6th century, Euphrasius, Bishop of Porec, built a cathedral on the site of the older city basilica, harmonising it with a series of accompanying buildings that were together create one of the great architectural complexes of the time, and the small provincial town on the margins of the Roman Empire went through a remarkable transformation.

Basilica Porec Croatia When Bishop Euphrasius started on his great undertaking, he was not starting from nothing. In the area from which his majestic basilica was to arise there were already earlier sacred buildings, dating from the 4th century, probably from immediately after 313. From the 3rd century, when Christianity was still not recognised, is dating Mauro oratory, when first Bishop of Porec, St. Maurus, adapted some existing buildings for their services. Floor mosaics with motifs of tendrils, meanders and pictures of fish point clearly to their symbolic significance belong to the first oratory, the remains of which are to be found alongside the Euphrasius Basilica. In the upper part of a square mosaic are written names of the donors and the number of feet of area. From all these floor mosaics we are able to follow the phases of the building, adaptations and renovations in the pre-Euphrasian era.

Basilica Porec Croatia In the 5th century a new large basilica was built and it developed into the existing buildings. It is a three-nave basilica with a rectangular ground plan without an apse. Like other churches in Istria of the 5th century, it developed under the influence of the eastern coast of the Adriatic and of the Near East architecture. Its mosaic floor is visible below floor of Euphrasius Basilica.

Basilica Porec Croatia When Bishop Euphrasius arrived in Porec in the middle of the 6th century, he found a city with a long past, typical provincial town of the later classical period and a well-organised Christian community. The distance factor were concerned. On the peripheral zones barbarian incursions were soften. The second half of the 5th century was marked by the barbarian attacks on Rome and other key points of the Empire. The Huns under Attila, who became king of Italy in 476, Theodoric, who replaced Attila in 493, left Istria out of the violent transformation. At the end of the 5th century, Istria was part of Theodoric's Ostrogothic state, but in the age of Justinian, in 539, it became part of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.

Basilica Porec Croatia Euphrasius basilica is the central part of a larger complex formed by a number of buildings constructed mostly at the same time. The entrance is constituted by the narthex, which was constructed on the site of an earlier street. Before the narthex is an open atrium with a square basis. Opposite the entrance to the basilica, is baptistery. The structure of the walls and the wooden roof construction are the work of local builders. Both the atrium and the baptistery, and all the parts of the walls of the basilica, were taken over in large part from the building that Euphrasius found here. Through the baptistery you can enter in bell tower, built in 1522.

Source:Tourist association of Porec

more

sponsored links

euphrasius basilica in porec